The Portland daily press., 1887-10-01
YOUTHFUL INcENpIARY.
A Fifteen Year Old Boy Confesses to
Firing Oak Grove.
Revenge for Being Set Back ir. His
Studies.
Both Fires the Result of His Handi-
Work.

Mr.. Ira True'S detective force arrested at
Brockton. Mass. yesterday, a boy named
George Harrington, aged 10 years, ON suspi-
cion of having set the second fire at Oak
Grove Seminary, Yassalboro. This fire, it
will be remembered, occurred ON the morn
ing of Sunday, September IS. Suspicion
was first directed to Harrington on account
of his absence from meeting that morning,
it being rule of the school that pupils shall
go to meeting on Sunday. He was sum-
moned before the jury that investigated tie
origin of the fire, and testified that he was
In swimming when the fire occurred and
knew nothing about its cause Soon after he
left Vassalboro for Stockton, where he has
sisters, his father and mother being dead,
and from there went to Brockton, Mass,
where he was arrested yesterday. He was
brought to Portland last night, and taken to
Vassalboro in the Pullman.
In conversation in Detective Trues office
last night, he said that the story he told at
the fire inquest at Vassalboro was not true.
He was not in swimming at the time of the
fire, nor had he been that morning He said
that about half-past ten that morning he
went up into the building which was burned
and while there lighted a cigarette and
threw the match down. Carpenters had
been at work in the room, and there were
shavings on the floor. He supposed, he
says, that the match was extinguished ba-
fore he threw it away. Soon after. he left
the room, closing the door behind him. and
went into another room. In few
moments he smelled smoke, and opening
the door found the room he had
Just left full of smoke and flame. He did
not Immediately give the alarm because his
presence in the building would be made
known and he be accused of setting the fire,
but quickly ran out of the building intend
ing to give the alarm where he got so far
away that the fact that he had been in it
would not be suspected SOMEBODY else, how
ever, discovered the fire and notified the peo-
pie before he had got when he thought he
could safely do so. He stoutly denied that
ne had Intentionally set the fire or that he
had made threats to do so. Subsequently,
after some private conversation between him
and the detective, he varied his story. saving
that he saw the match set the shayings on
ire and tried to put them out, but could not.
lie still maintained, however, that the fire
was accidental. He said he had not thought
OF running away when he went to Brockton.
out went there on the request of his sisters
who lived there. A letter was produced by
the detective from the boys guardian, Mr..
Hlchborn of Stockton, written to the boy. in
which allusion was made to threats made by
the boy to burn the Oak Grove buildings.
Later in the evening the detectives re-
ported that while the boy was at the tick
ct Office in the Maine Central depot he
confessed that he set the first FIRE at the
Seminary. He said he did it out of spite be-
cause he had been set back in his studies.
He got up in the night and with nothing on
but his shirt went into the basement and
with match set fire to a lot of rags.
Harrington is not bad looking boy, and
apparently is of fair intelligence. He writes
an uncommonly good hand for one of his
age and talks very WELL A brother of his
has recently been pardoned out of the Mas
sachusetts State prison, where he was i'm
prisoned on charge of forgery
The confession which Harrington is al.
legged to have made of setting the first fire
the PRESS knows nothing about. 1t simply
repeats the story told by the detectives.
But If the same methods were employed to
procure that confession as were used to get
the boy to confess the intentioned author
ship of the second fire then it should be re-
ceived with great many grains of allow
ance. The boy may be guilty, very likely
is, but he is entitled to fair treatment and
this he did not receive at the hands of the
detectives. he was alternately coaxed and
brow beaten.